A total of 50 artists took the stage for the season's "Showcase" round, which required the hopefuls to perform a song accompanied by a live band in front of the judges and a cheering, screaming audience.

After every artist took the stage, the judging panel revealed to each person -- one by one, and face to face -- whether they had made the Top 24 through the "Final Judgment" round.

Katy, Lionel and Luke decided the following hopefuls will be in the Top 24: Jurnee Weathers, an 18-year-old hostess from Denver, CO; Ron Bultongez, a 21-year-old entrepreneur originally from Congo who currently resides in Plano, TX; Dominique, a 26-year-old legal secretary from Birmingham, AL; Michael J. Woodard, a 20-year-old bowling alley attendant from Philadelphia, PA; and Catie Turner, a 17-year-old high school student from Langhorne, PA.

Jonny Brenns, an 18-year-old college student from St. Augustine, FL, also survived, in addition to Mara Justine, a 15-year-old high school student from Galloway, NJ; Layla Spring, a 16 high school student from Marion County, KY; and Caleb Lee Hutchinson, an 18-year-old musician from Dallas, GA.

Another group of contestants who will compete in the next round are Alyssa Raghu, a 15-year-old high school student from Orlando, FL; Effie Passero, a 26-year-old assistant property manager from Modesto, CA; Gabby Barrett, a 17-year-old high school student from Pittsburgh, PA; Michelle Sussett, a 22-year-old waitress from Miami, FL; and Trevor McBane, a 22-year-old goat farmer from Savanna, OK.

And the remaining contestants who made it to the Top 24 are Kay Kay Alexis, an 18-year-old from Nashua, NH; Amelia Hammer Harris, a 26-year-old musician from Lexington, KY; Brandon Diaz, a 21-year-old college student from Ashburn, VA; Garrett Jacobs, a 17-year-old high school student from Bossier City, LA; and Shannon O'Hara, a 17-year-old nanny from Mooresville, NC.

A handful of the artists who advanced delivered incredible performances during the "Showcase."

Jonny performed "Lay Me Down" by Sam Smith, Michael belted out an interesting song choice -- "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette -- Adam or Ada brought down the house with "Creep" by Radiohead, Gabby showed her impressive range on "Church Bells" by Carrie Underwood, and Shannon took a risk by singing Katy's "Unconditionally" hit.

But with such great news also came bad news for many artists, who were told they did not make the cut on American Idol this season.

The biggest surprise of the night was probably when Thaddeus Johnson, a 25-year-old pub server from Oklahoma City, OK, got eliminated.

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It was also likely a shock to fans to lose Laine Hardy, a 17-year-old high school student from Livingston, LA; Harper Grace, a 16-year-old high school student from McKinney, TX; Britney Holmes, a 28-year-old vocal coach from Frisco, TX; Maddie Zahm, a 19-year-old special education teacher from Boise, ID; and Noah Davis, an 18-year-old nursing student from Royal, AR, from the running.

Other hopefuls who were also shown getting cut from the competition were Milo Sposato, Trevor Holmes -- whom Katy had a big crush on, Les Green, William Casanova, Carly Moffa, Samothias, Lee Vasi, and the American Idol baby Victoria McQueen.

Next week, American Idol's Top 24 will perform for one last chance to impress the judges, and then they will sing all-star duets with famous faces such as Lea Michele from Glee. Once the competition is narrowed down to the Top 14, those artists will then sing for America's vote.